WAVE HEIGHT DECAY MODEL WITHIN A SURF ZONE

Shigeki Sakai, Kouetsu Hiyamizu, Hiroshi Saeki

Abstract

A model for wave height decay of a spilling breaker is proposed. The energy dissipation of a breaking wave is approximated by that of a propagating bore. In order to explain the gentle decay of spilling breaker at the initial stage, a development of a foam region, which indicates the amount of foam on the wave profile and determines the rate of energy dissipation, is considered. In addition to this formulation, the energy and momentum balance equations are described by a linear wave theory in shallow water and are simultaneously solved. Comparisons with experimental results show that the model gives a good prediction in both inner and outer regions, and that two coefficients in the present model are related to the deep water wave steepness and the slope of beaches.